An Orchid's Child
by Aerinn Gwen
Summary: Hermione started talking. "Ginny, you didn't need to cut your hol–" "Mummy?" She froze. Her eyes were still glued to the television but she wasn't watching anymore. "Happy Mother's Day, Mummy," said a child's voice.


**Disclaimer** : Harry Potter and all its glory does not belong to me for I am not J.K. Rowling.

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**An Orchid's Child**

**by**

**Aerinn Gwen**

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She opened her eyes and sighed to herself. Today would be the third Mother's Day she'd spend alone. To an outsider, it meant absolutely nothing but to Hermione Granger, it was everything. Some days she would wake up with a throbbing ache in her chest and some days she would wake up and feel like part of her was missing. Other days such as today, she would be woken up by an emptiness that filled her entire being. She sat up in bed and clutched her hand to her chest, trying to stop that empty void from growing.

"Breathe, Hermione. You've gone through this twice and you will do this again," she said to herself as she felt tears pooling in her eyes. On the first Mother's Day, Ginny and Harry brought her to the new library in London and spent the entire day there. On the second, they brought her to the movies and later at night, a Quidditch game. She remembered those two days clearly but nothing rang clearer than the day she woke up after giving birth to her baby girl, Faye. She woke to a letter with the Malfoy crest on it.

_Miss Granger,_

_I refuse to call you Mrs. Malfoy because my son can do so much better than someone of your filthy heritage. I initially thought that he would file for a divorce but I was obviously proven wrong when you got pregnant and tainted the Malfoy line with your blood. My son is a fool. As you read this letter, I would have already taken the abomination of a child and placed her under the care of people of your kind. Draco will be taught a lesson for being a complete imbecile. I refuse to go on further letting my son destroy everything that I've built for the Malfoy name. No grandchild of mine will be a Half-blood._

_L.M._

She remembered that stupid note word for word. She never stopped trying to look for Faye. Not until Lucius Malfoy died last year. When he died, so did all hopes of finding her daughter. She never bothered looking for Draco simply because she didn't want him to suffer more than he had to.

With one final sigh, she got out of bed and made herself comfortable. This year, Ginny and Harry were on a holiday in Bulgaria so it would be just her for the very first time. Of course she made preparations! She wouldn't be Hermione Granger if she didn't. She made a list three months ago, jotting down all the things she would need and planning out her entire day. She changed her itinerary a few times in the past week and stocked up on all the ice-cream and chocolate anyone could dream of.

She trotted downstairs to her well furnished living room. Needless to say, Hermione had been successful since the war ended. Her job as a Healer paid well, and, on top of that, she was also a Curse Breaker that offered her services to the Ministry of Magic. She went straight to the kitchen and grabbed the first tub of ice-cream she saw.

Golden Medal Ribbon.

It was one of her favourite ice-cream flavours. She took a spoon from the counter and headed straight for the television. Yes, her whole day was going to be spent watching sappy romance movies and comedies as well as eating tubs and tubs of ice-cream. She would worry about working off the extra pounds tomorrow when it wasn't Mother's Day.

She plopped on the couch, ice-cream in one hand and the remote control in the other, and proceeded to flip through channels until she found something worth watching. She finally settled on _She's The Man_. Content with her selection, she dug into her ice-cream, shoving spoon after spoon down her throat. She told herself that the ice-cream was to make her feel better but she had this nagging feeling that she was hoping it would fill up that empty void. The latter was obviously the real reason but she wanted to tell herself otherwise.

Halfway into the movie, the doorbell rang. She wasn't expecting any guests but it was probably Ginny and Harry who came back early to check on her. With a flick of her wand, she opened the front door without taking her eyes off the television screen.

Hermione started talking. "Ginny, you didn't need to cut your hol–"

"Mummy?"

She froze. Her eyes were still glued to the television but she wasn't watching anymore.

"Happy Mother's Day, Mummy," said a child's voice.

Tears pooled in Hermione's eyes once again. This must be some sick joke. Someone must have found out about her pregnancy and her sweet baby girl. This is a terrible joke and the world was against her. Who would play such a horrible prank on her? Who would even give out information about her pregnancy when only a handful of people knew? Ginny and Harry? Of course not! They would die before revealing such things. The Weasleys? Impossible. She went through different names in her head, wondering who would pull a prank like that. Cho? Flint? Parkinson?

Her thoughts went out the window when a small hand came in contact with her tear stained face.

"Why are you crying, Mummy? Don't cry," said the girl again.

Hermione looked into the warm, brown eyes of the little girl and she felt her chest tighten. The little girl had the infamous Malfoy platinum blonde hair and her brown eyes. She was pale but her cheeks were rosy and she looked absolutely healthy. Call it maternal instinct; Hermione knew this little girl was Faye. This was _her_little girl. The question remained – how did Faye know who she was and where to find her?

"H- How do you know I'm your mummy?" Hermione managed to ask. She knew her voice was cracking but she couldn't help it. What if this was a terrible nightmare and she would wake up in cold sweat?

"Daddy tolds me. He brought me here," she answered. Faye's voice was like music to Hermione's ears. Wait, what? Daddy? Draco? She did a double take and snapped her head towards the front door. There stood Draco in his beautiful glory looking as dashing as the last time she saw him, if not more. He wore a black shirt with jeans and in his hand was a single orchid, her favourite flower.

Different emotions took over that empty void. Happiness, shock, disbelief, surprise but mostly happiness. She finally felt whole again. It was as if there wasn't anything missing in the first place. His voice pulled her back to reality.

"Hermione, may I come in?" he asked. She nodded. Her voice was on an impromptu holiday. He walked in, orchid in hand and Faye jumped off the couch Hermione was on. Hermione instantly felt cold from the lost of warmth from the little girl. She watched as Faye grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him towards the couch. She asked him to sit but he wasn't sure if Hermione would like that so he remained standing. Faye pouted and pulled on his leg until he gave in. Typical Malfoy characteristic.

"Here, Mummy! I picked this for you. Daddy tolds me you like them," Faye said as she took the orchid from Draco's hand and put it in Hermione's instead.

"Daddy told you?"

"Yes, Mummy! Do you likes the flower? It's your Mother's Day present."

Hermione started crying again.

"Mummy! You no likes the flower?" Faye asked with quivering lips.

Before Hermione could answer, Draco beat her to it.

"Faye, Mummy loves it. Mummy's just too overwhelmed right now. Why don't you watch some television while Mummy settles down? No more pouting and quivering. Got it?" Draco sounded loving and stern at the same time. Faye nodded obediently and gave Hermione a tight hug.

"Happy Mother's Day again, mummy!" she said out loud. Faye leaned into Hermione's ear and whispered, "I think Daddy wants to talks to you." With that, she giggled, pulled herself off Hermione and headed for the remote control. That little girl was exceptionally observant for her age. Draco sat across the couch and watched Hermione who had a small smile on her face as her eyes followed their daughter.

"How?" she asked Draco without looking at him. There was no need to elaborate that question. He knew what she meant.

"I spent the past three years looking for her despite my father's effort to stop me. After he died, I rummaged through his study and searched every inch of the Malfoy Manor to look for something, anything that would help because I was sure he had assistance from another party and finally, I found the address. I went to check it out and when I laid my eyes on her, I –"

"You?" Hermione prompted.

"I almost felt whole. The only thing missing was," he paused. Hermione looked at him with a questioning eyebrow.

"You."

They looked at each other, each not muttering a word. Another soft giggle escaped the little girl's lips.

"Mummy and Daddy looks funny like this," she said.

Hermione smiled at the little girl before turning back to Draco who never took his eyes off the love of his life.

"Continue," Hermione said, her voice giving no indication about the way she felt. Draco felt his heart sink a little but continued nonetheless.

"I found her but I couldn't take her with me legally so I visited her daily and told her stories about us. Turns out her Muggle parents told her that she wasn't biologically theirs and she never called them mummy or daddy. I only managed to get everything legally sorted out three weeks ago. I spent those three weeks telling her everything about you and how we met. I told her about the wizarding world and how one day, she'd go to Hogwarts like you and I did. Today we woke up bright and early and she forced me to get her an orchid. Very persuasive, that little one," Draco said as he looked towards his little girl. _Their_little girl.

Hermione didn't know what to think, and believe it or not, it was her first time not being able to think about something. She knew her indifference towards Draco's confession hurt him a little. She saw how his features darken slightly. She honestly didn't know what to think as she stared into his grey orbs but that nagging voice told her that she didn't need to think. All that mattered was her baby girl was back and the man she loved was right there beside her. Maybe it was time for another confession.

"I feel whole too, Draco, and it's not just because of Faye," she said, hoping he understood what she meant.

His face lit up immediately and he said, "I've missed you so much."

Before she could reply, he pressed his lips on hers causing her heart to hammer in her chest. Her lips responded instantaneously. His lips felt cool on hers and she allowed him to kiss her gently while he pulled her close to him.

"Eww!"

They pulled away from each other and looked down at the source of the noise. Faye looked absolutely disgusted and she looked so adorable with that expression. Hermione laughed. The sound of her laughter sounded so genuine and not forced. Her spirits soared as Faye continued to look disgusted when Draco placed a peck on Hermione's lips.

"Come here, Faye!" Hermione said as she laughed. The little girl plopped herself up on the couch in between Draco and Hermione.

"Yes, Mummy?"

"Daddy and I have a little treat for you. Right, Draco?" Hermione said as she winked at him.

"Yes. On three," he replied sending a wink back at Hermione. It's funny how they still managed to think on the same wavelength. It was as if they were never apart.

"One," Hermione said.

"Two," Draco continued.

"THREE!" squealed Faye.

Right on three, Draco and Hermione placed a kissed on Faye's cheeks causing her to squeal in delight.

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**Author's Note** : _Here's something for Mother's Day which is just around the corner! I'll update Daylight Through Darkness after my finals end so stay tuned!_


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